Most of us suffer from gift blindness. We can easily spot the talents of others. We can tell them what things they should pursue and which activities to avoid. But when it comes to our own gifts, we’re as blind as bats.
We end up building websites we have no business building, designing mailers without a clue, trying to become teachers when it’s clearly not our gift, and pursuing careers that are outside our sweet spot. We take a crash-and-burn approach to gift discovery when the clues have been there all along.
The clues are the stories that are told about you. When you’re gifted, people say, “Remember when you…” and “I love how you…” When you’re not, people simply don’t say anything.
